For certain medical procedures, minimally invasive surgery has replaced conventional surgery where the patient's body cavity is open to permit the surgeon's hands and instruments access to the cavity and internal organs. Minimally invasive procedures are typically less traumatic than conventional surgery, in part, because of the significant reduced incision size through which the medical instruments are inserted.
A video camera may be inserted into the patient in the area of the surgical site to view the procedure. It is, of course, important that the surgeon have some feedback either through a camera and fiber optic cable, or through real-time computerized tomography scan imagery. However, even with such visualization, the surgeon's tactile and position senses are physically removed from the operative site.
Some have proposed, therefore, the use of robots in surgery. Although current laparoscopy limits dexterity, and robotics restores dexterity, presently, existing systems, using manipulators both with and without haptic feedback, are generally too bulky and heavy for many minimally invasive procedures, or are too weak and imprecise for surgery.